A. Generally speaking, the microhardness of electroplated nickel ranges from HV 150 to 350 ,while the microhardness of electroless nickel is around HV 600, and with proper heat treatment, HV 1000 can be achieved for electroless nickel.

Ling

Ling Hao- Grand Rapids, Michigan

(1999)

A. In fact electroless nickel coating on steel is definitely harder, but this depends on what you are trying to achieve: just hardness or hardness and appearance. Cold solutions with sodium borohydrate as a reducer provide Ni-B alloy, which is hard, but dull and grey in appearance, while hot bath with sodium hypophosphite results in Ni-P alloy which has better leveling power and more glossy. Both types of coating require heat treatment, otherwise hydrogen will penetrate in steel and cause micro-cracks.

However you can raise hardness of electroplated nickel in standard Watts' bath by adding Ferrous iron ions - 1-3 g/L. In this case heat treatment is also required to avoid tensiles (iron tends to plate first and internal layers of the deposit contain less nickel than external, if iron concentration is not kept constant).

Anton Cheglov- Brisbane, QLD - Australia

December 2, 2015

A. I have been looking for Nickel Plating Hardness Values (the area of contact for a switch contact is Force divided by Hardness. Once when I had Bright Nickel analyzed the microhardness came back over 1000 HV. I believe the 100-350 HV values are for ASTM Type 1 Nickel while ASTM Type 2 is 2-3 times higher.

Allen SchwartzAutomotive Switches - Livonia, Michigan, USA

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